


Inside the Dreams of a Ghost

by KadeAK (zacixn)



Series: The Inner Workings of the Late Subcon Prince [2]
Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Character Death In Dream, Discovery, Dreams and Nightmares, Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:53:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23110510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zacixn/pseuds/KadeAK
Summary: Ghost dreams are peculiar things. They are rare, since ghosts do not sleep unless exhausted, but if the ghost that dreams has enough untouched mental baggage, it's entirely possible that the energy released is enough to allow anyone who sleeps nearby to share the same dream. Snatcher used to know this very well, so they've avoided sleeping unless it's absolutely necessary. Unfortunately for them, when Hat Kid allows them to take a power nap in their ship after their final Death Wish fight, all of their precautions only make a dream disaster inevitable.Or: How the secret of the late Subcon Prince's fate is inadvertently spilled in the worst way possible.[Despite being in a series, this story is stand-alone, and does not require you to read the first part to understand what's going on here.]
Series: The Inner Workings of the Late Subcon Prince [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1661152
Comments: 11
Kudos: 170





	1. The Tides of Sleep

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, fair warning, I refer to the current incarnation of the Snatcher with they/them pronouns. All mentions of the Prince will use he/him pronouns, though.

For a little weird alien girl, Hat Kid really managed to pack a punch. Snatcher had actually been rather confident in their victory this time, having used that EX magic on themself in order to exponentially increase their firepower and general abilities, but in the end, she came out on top. It was rather impressive, the way she managed to weave around their attacks and throw them right back at them, and if Snatcher weren’t so exhausted, they might’ve had the energy to be a tad more impressed.

The effects of the EX magic and the lost fight piled on quickly, though, and before the ghost could even think up a losing quip to the child, they were on the floor, face up, too tired to even muster the energy to float off the ground any longer. A long, low groan escaped their mouth as they laid there, staring blankly up at the eternal night of the Subcon skies. At least that was the last Death Wish. Snatcher didn’t mind watching the kid die over and over, but she’d gotten way too good at the contracts for much fun to come out of it, and frankly, they were not a fan of how well she knew their habitual attack patterns.

A poke in their half-corporeal side startled Snatcher, and with a great deal of effort, the spirit sat up, propping themself up with their arms. There stood Hat Kid, mock Time Piece in hand, looking rather concerned for some reason.

“What is it, kid? That was the last death wish. I have nothing else for you, so get out of my forest already,” Snatcher said, flicking one of their hands in a shooing motion. Despite the clearly unfriendly tone the ghost used, instead of following their verbal directions, Hat Kid tilted her head sideways, holding her hand out.

“You can rest in my ship if you want,” she offered, hand outstretched. “It’s very comfy. You’ll get a lot more rest there, I promise!”

Snatcher looked between the offered hand and the innocently optimistic face of Hat Kid incredulously. They had seen her ship before, of course, when initially offering the Death Wish contracts, but never for long at a time. It was almost jarring how quickly the little kid went from being a determined fighter to just a friendly girl who wanted to help her BFF out. (NOT that Snatcher recognised the terms of that contract as being legally binding.)

“Why would I want to stay in your ship to rest?” they bit back. Their words didn’t have the intended snap to them, but it didn’t matter. “No offense, kiddo, but I’ll be perfectly fine going home. I don’t have all day to hang around you, you know!” With those words, they got up, trying to ignore the still present burn of exhaustion as they turned to try floating back home.

Of course, the world was not kind, and very soon, the world tipped on its side again as Snatcher’s energy ran out and they crashed back to the unforgiving earth. They let out another groan as Hat Kid dashed to their side, leaning over them with a somehow more concerned look painted on her face.

“You suuuure you don’t wanna just come to mine?” she asked again, but this time her words were tinged with a little annoying tone of ‘I told you so!’ that only little kids seemed to know how to pull off.

After a few moments of indignant silence, Snatcher relented, shoulders sagging again. “Fine, fine. I’ll come with, kiddo. Just don’t expect me to hang out with you.” Going on the ship didn’t sound too bad, and the ghost did have a soft spot for the child, but it still felt a little humiliating to admit defeat. Thankfully, the kid didn’t brag, instead letting out a pleased giggle and holding on to the fallen body of the spirit in order to activate the ship’s teleporter module.

The transporter was efficient, and in only a matter of moments, both Hat Kid and Snatcher had arrived safely in the living room area of the dinky little spaceship. Snatcher squinted their eyes as they adjusted to the sudden bright light of the colourful decoration – compared to the nicely muted hues of Subcon, this ship never failed to surprise them with its pure colour intensity.

“You can rest in my bedroom! Come on~!” Hat Kid beamed as soon as she dusted herself off, moving to tug Snatcher in the direction of the corresponding door. Picking themself off the carpeted ground sluggishly, the ghost yawned loudly, holding a hand up to their opened mouth. The exhaustion seemed to have manifested itself into a persistent sense of tiredness, the type that was usually cured by sleep. Snatcher didn’t usually sleep, but it looked like that was going to change very soon.

“Calm down, kiddo. I’m coming.” they responded, the words coming out slightly warped as another yawn escaped them, somehow stronger than the last.

In order to prevent any further collapses, Snatcher slowed their pace down to a fraction of their usual speed, basically trailing behind Hat Kid as she led the way. The ship was nicely connected, thankfully, so the journey was short – admittedly way shorter than the time it would have taken the ghost to traipse all the way back to their treehouse without being spotted by any of the Subconites.

“This it, kid?” they half-spoke, half-grumbled, eyeing the intimidatingly large pile of pillows in a corner. Hat Kid made an affirmative noise, moving to leap in the pile head-first and basically swim in it.

“We can rest in here together!” she chirped happily, floating to the surface of the sea of soft things and sticking her tongue out at Snatcher. When the ghost made no movement to join her, clearly a little sceptical of the sheer scale of the fixture, she made a beckoning motion. “What are you, scared? It’s just pillows! Come on~!”

“I’m not scared, you know,” Snatcher attempted to pull one of his trademark exclamations, but it came across as a child’s indignant protest. They sighed. “Alright.” It probably wouldn’t be too bad to nestle in, at least for now. Maybe it would do some good for the aches and pains starting to make themselves known all over Snatcher’s body. With sluggish movements, they slithered into the pool of pillows, poking their head out of the top and reclining.

“Not half bad,” they said aloud, closing their eyes as they felt some warmth. It didn’t have much of an effect on the ever-present chill of death, but it permeated through their body enough for even Snatcher to feel the warmth of it all. In fact, this might be the warmest they’d ever felt. An even more powerful yawn escaped their jaws as they sank into the softness, pillows bending around their presence as it threatened to swallow their body entirely.

Hat Kid turned to face them, a curious look on her face. “Can ghosts sleep?” she piped up, her voice slightly muffled by the sheer amount of pillows encapsulating her. 

Cracking open an eye, Snatcher looked back over to meet her gaze. “Yeah, of course. We don’t need to sleep, but if we drain our energy too fast, well.” A fourth yawn accompanied their words.

Hat Kid made a noise of understanding, returning to her pillow floating. Silence filled the air – it seemed she’d gotten the hint that all the ghost really wanted to do was rest their eyes for a couple of hours.

It didn’t take very long for the tides of sleep to come in when everything fell silent. Snatcher let out an unnecessary breath, closed their eyes, and let the world crumble away – at least, for a bit.

In hindsight, maybe they ought to have brushed up on what exactly happens when such a troubled ghost dares to fall asleep.


	2. The Forest of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is relatively peaceful, for a little while. Enjoy the calm while it lasts.

Though Hat Kid had been basically squirming with energy when she entered the Pillow Pile of Naptimes, she found herself soon snuggling down beside the limp body of Snatcher as little high pitched yawns of her own escaped her mouth. The fight from earlier may have been more taxing on the noodle ghost, but it had still sucked a lot of stamina out of her, even if she had come out of it victorious.

The idea of sleeping ghosts was still really weird to her, but she supposed it made sense, what with all the energy expending they tended to do when using magic. It sounded like a strain, even if having the ability to wield lasers and shapeshift and stuff sounded undeniably cool. Hat Kid wondered briefly how Snatcher was doing after their fight – the ghost had seemed pretty out of it, to the point where there was hardly any snap behind their soon-deh-ray attitude. It’d been super concerning. She swam over to where the spirit lay, placing her head on some of the pillows that surrounded them.

It seemed that they’d just fallen asleep, actually. With a little straining, Hat Kid could hear their very soft snoring. It sounded a bit weird, distorted by their usual voice effect – honestly, she’d never imagined that Snatcher would be the type to snore at all. Maybe it was a habit left over from when they were alive? 

Oh well. Weird sounding or not, the gentle background noise was incredibly soothing. Letting it lull her gently, Hat Kid closed her eyes, and softly drifted off to sleep.

-

Hat Kid re-opened her eyes in a place that was familiar, but very much not so. Expanses of lush forest lay out before her, inviting tangles of flowers and bushes cluttering the landscape with colours of all types. She picked herself up, gazing around with wide eyes. The sun was bright, the sky a soft baby blue, and a path underfoot seemed to lead to somewhere perhaps even lovelier. Was this some sort of dream? Hat Kid loved it when she dreamt so vividly – it was rare when she did, but her dreams always brought back memories of her past travels across the vast galaxies of space.

Except, she didn’t recognise this forest. Hat Kid never forgot a place, and she most certainly had never been to this forest. If she was dreaming, why was she dreaming of a place she’d never been to before?

The girl didn’t have a chance to question the happenings further when a loud, familiar observation split the otherwise serene air.  
“What the hell are you doing here, kid?”

The voice was unmistakably Snatcher’s. Hat Kid turned to see them not far away, rushing over to where she stood on the path. Evidently, their energy had returned to them somewhat, probably because they were in her dream.

“I’m dreaming?” Hat Kid spoke, raising her pitch at the end as if she wasn’t entirely sure if that was the case. She bit her thumb in thought. “I think I’m dreaming. Why are you in my dream, Snatcher?” 

Freezing in their spot, the ghost looked down on the girl before raising their voice incredulously.  
“YOUR dream? I think you’ll find this is MY dream. Which I DIDN’T invite you to.” They sounded incredibly annoyed at Hat Kid’s presence, more so than usual. Snatcher placed a taloned hand to their forehead in exasperation. “Get out of here before you see something you don’t want to.”

Huh? What did that mean?   
“How am I in your dream?” Hat Kid piped up, dodging the command. “I didn’t mean to enter it or anything. I just went to sleep.” Her words were mildly defensive.   
“I should have seen this coming,” Snatcher groaned, irritation clear on their face. “Look, kid, this is definitely MY dream. YOU probably came in here by accident. Happens all the time with strong ghosts, and I should know.” They sighed. “Just get out.”

“I don’t know how to!” the girl protested, putting her hands up. She rolled up one of her sleeves and pinched herself, but nothing happened. Another harder pinch only succeeded in birthing a red mark on her arm. “I’m a time expert, not a dream expert!” She stuck her tongue out at the large spirit now looming rather irritatedly over her. “Besides, grouchy, it’s just a dream. I’m sure it can’t hurt if I’m here. It’s not like it’s a collapsing time rift, or anything~.”

Snatcher was silent for a moment, before slumping a little. “ALRIGHT, FINE. I guess I can’t get rid of you. Well, then, kid. Stay OUT of trouble, and MAYBE I won’t find a reason to kill that little dream husk of yours.” 

“Score!” Hat Kid punched the air with her fist, basically leaping in joy. She couldn’t wait to find out what kinds of things the ghost dreamt about! “So, Snatchy, what’s the deal with this place?”

Beginning to lead the way down the long winding path, Snatcher shot a warning glare at the girl before turning their gaze back to the road ahead. “ONE. Don’t ever call me that again. Two, this is Subcon Forest.”

“Subcon Forest? But that place is all dead and stuff. Why’s it look so pretty now?” Hat Kid asked, following along at a healthy pace.

“THIS is Subcon Forest before Vanessa went Ice Queen and killed everyone. You could say it’s the Subcon I lived in back when I had FEELINGS and junk.” Snatcher made a dismissive scoffing noise at that. “Glad I don’t have them anymore!”

Hat Kid looked around once more. This was Subcon? No way. The trees were blooming, the day bright and warm, the heat on her skin pleasant. It felt like mid-summer, so how on earth had Vanessa been powerful enough to frost the entire land over?  
“If you lived here, do you think we’ll see you, then?” she piped up, sudden curiosity shimmering in her eyes.

The ghost stiffened at that. “I hope not,” they ground out. “I’m NOT having a brat like you learn about MY past. We’re going to hide from the village, and we’re going to wait for the dream to pass without anything bad happening. Capiche, kiddo?”

“You’re no fun.” Hat Kid pouted.

“Yeah, well, it’s MY dream in MY forest, so I make the rules!” 

The two headed along the path for a little while longer in a comfortable silence, simply observing the surroundings. Hat Kid was having a blast of a time seeing all the old biodiversity, but Snatcher seemed to be focused on the path ahead, their movements unnaturally stilted as if they were worried that something might happen at any moment. 

“You okay~?” she asked, quickening her pace so that she walked at an even pace with the ghost’s floating speed. 

Snatcher tilted their head away slightly. “Look, kid. I’m a ghost. That means I'm DEAD. If we’re not careful, this dream isn’t going to end happily.”

“No way!! There’s no way this forest could turn bad so fast. We’ll be fi—”

Hat Kid didn’t even manage to finish her sentence before the surroundings began to change, the forest twisting and turning around them as the already unstable dreamscape began to force itself to progress.


	3. Queen Vanessa and her Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Manor is not as nice as it seems.

Despite no longer having a stomach, the sensation of the dreamscape twisting around the duo was enough to make even Snatcher feel nauseous. To be honest, even simply being in the pre-iced Subcon Forest had been enough to send waves of unease coursing through the ghost’s body, bringing forth memories they’d done their best to suppress over the centuries. It’d been perhaps years since they’d last fallen into such a deep sleep that they’d completely forgotten what it was like to dream.

Snatcher froze as the world re-settled into place around them, and they realised how Hat Kid had latched on to them, her face buried in the thick tangles of their ghost fur. She looked nauseous beyond belief, which was fair, considering how the transition between scenes had been. Now, though, their surroundings seemed to be far darker than before, but not because of the time – no, from the looks of things, they’d landed themelves right in the middle of the manor. Actually, it looked too dark, way darker than Snatcher recalled, but maybe that was a side effect of the whole dreaming thing.

A shudder ran down the ghost’s body as they realised what route this dream must be headed towards, followed by a surge of protectiveness for the little girl currently huddled in their side. She might be annoying as all hell, but she was here by accident, and she was a valued minion among the ranks of the Subconites. Hat Kid most certainly did not deserve to bear witness to Snatcher’s inner demons.

The kid made a muffled noise as she pulled her face out of the ghost’s fur, still looking decently paler than usual. Despite that, she stepped away, regrounding herself with a slap to the cheek.  
“Ghost dreams are weird,” she declared. “I dunno if I like them.”

At least she was alright for now, then. Snatcher let their face return to its usual sour expression, in an attempt to mask any rising nerves that attempted to surface due to the surroundings.  
“Yeah, well, I have to live with it, kiddo.”

Hat Kid stuck out her tongue at that, before getting quickly distracted by the new surroundings. It probably looked a far cry from the current state of the manor, not that Snatcher had cared to check on Vanessa in the past hundred or so years. Knowing her, though, she’d probably laid waste to the place in the present, which only made the contrast between how it all used to look even more striking.

“This place’s got swag,” Hat Kid spoke. She seemed to be rather unbothered by the dim lighting, which led Snatcher to believe that maybe they were the only one perceiving it that way. “Where are we now? I guess this place was important to you.”

The ghost frowned. “This was Queen Vanessa’s place. Again, before she went ice bitch.” The walls were lined with portraits and photographs of the Queen and her Prince, some separate but most of them together. The mere sight of them made Snatcher feel sick to their stomach. Hat Kid didn’t seem to get the memo from their body language though, instead following their gaze and stopping in front of the largest portrait in the room, one Vanessa had gotten commissioned only a year before her meltdown. The two painted subjects looked so happy; it was almost hard to believe what’d happened.

“Wow. She looks super pretty, for a total hag.” Hat Kid laughed, leaning in to peek at the artwork. “And who’s that dude standing next to her? Some kinda king?”

“Prince, actually,” Snatcher interjected, floating over to see what she was looking at. 

The girl looked thoughtful. “Did you know this prince, then? Was he nice? Will he turn up?” God, so many questions. Snatcher could feel the fur on the back of their neck rising as they struggled to think up a tactful way to deflect the questions of a curious little kid. Thankfully, though, voices, muffled by the walls, split through the air. Almost immediately, Hat Kid’s posture perked up, and she shot in the direction of the noise, leaving her ghostly companion to hastily rush after her.

“Kid! Kid! Slow DOWN, you’ll break something!” Their calls came in rushed whispers and hisses to the child, who paid no heed, instead flashing an OK symbol backwards and only stopping when the voices were just around the corner of a long, long corridor. Snatcher slowed to a halt just before the child, letting out an exasperated wheeze as they poked their own head around the corner of the hallway, the scenery hazier than before.

Stood around the corner were the slightly hazy images of the two subjects of the paintings scattered around the manor – Queen Vanessa and her Prince. Another, stronger wave of unease crashed through the spirit, and they clutched the wall in order to remain stable. Could dreams end part-way? They really would give anything to not be here anymore, but leaving now would raise too many questions, and talking about it sounded far worse than watching their past self act like an idiot again.

The two figures seemed to be in the midst of a disagreement, their once very clear conversation muffled to words that neither Snatcher nor Hat Kid could really pick up. It felt almost like listening to a conversation in a different language, except the language did not exist. From what the two onlookers could tell, though, there was something wrong, very wrong.

Even without the words, Snatcher remembered this dispute, at least somewhat. Vanessa was, judging by her body language, probably in a fit of misguided despair over something, and the Prince was doing his best to console her, though he looked visibly scared by her erraticism. She could be yelling about hell knows what – the bacon fiasco, the law scholarship to a different village, maybe even that one time he dared to go on a day trip alone. 

Hat Kid seemed to have picked up on the piercingly tense atmosphere, too, even without the context. She seemed rather distraught at the image of the two supposed betrothed rulers so deep in an argument, to the point where she could see the potential for tears shining in the eyes of the Prince. The child turned to look up at Snatcher, who loomed overhead, more like a dark cloud than a spirit at this point.

“Why are they fighting?” came her surprisingly meek sounding question. For someone as bold as Hat Kid, the Snatcher never expected to hear her sound so… child-like. Another fierce wave of protectiveness surged through the ghost, mingling with the powerful sense of unease and melancholy they were already dealing with and almost bringing tears to their own eyes as well. Movements jolty, Snatcher glanced away.

“The Queen’s a bitch and the Prince’s an idiot,” they grumbled, sounding quite troubled all of a sudden. “Don’t fall in love. Ever.” 

As the ghost attempted to float away, though, the dream began to destabilise once more, the picture of the manor and the words of the two dream figures melting and jittering until even the air seemed to bend around the two dreamers. This time, even Hat Kid picked up on the irregular vibes, and she stumbled backwards, landing unceremoniously on her back as the air thickened, and an icy chill pierced through the room.

Snatcher turned back towards the scene in panic, their ‘fur’ standing on edge, just in time to see the image of Vanessa distort into her eldritch horror form. The last thing they saw before everything went black was the hollow glow of her piercing red eyes, boring into their very core.

A cry escaped the spirit’s throat, and then, the world disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is not a happy one at all. Be prepared.


	4. The Cellar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Snatcher is not okay. Hat Kid finally realises that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I basically got vibe checked by my subconscious into writing this chapter. I'm not even sure if I like it that much.

There continued to be nothing for what felt like a very, very long time. Hat Kid struggled to breathe, the oppression of the pure magical dream energy weighing down on her like a ton of bricks. This time, though, instead of feeling nauseous, the girl felt… cold. Bitterly cold, like she’d just stepped inside an icy ocean, or perhaps right into the claws of Queen Vanessa herself.

She was still processing the conversation from earlier, really. The Prince and the Queen’s argument, and Snatcher’s apparent distaste for both of them. Why were they dreaming of people they apparently didn’t like, and why had they been so initially angry at Hat Kid for being in their dream at all? More importantly, when on earth would they turn up in their own dream? It was all quite confusing, but unfortunately, Hat Kid didn’t quite have the spare oxygen to really focus on finding the answer to the questions right now.

The scream from earlier was also still echoing in her head. It sounded familiar, and if she were anyone else, she might guess that it were Snatcher who’d done the screaming. But they weren’t the type to scream, not at all. And yet, the scream had come from their general direction, and sounded like them, so… what on earth could make such a powerful spirit cry out in terror like that?

As quickly as the heavy cloak of darkness had settled, it began to lift, but the room stayed dark, and cold, and distant. Hat Kid let out a breath of relief, surprised at how the exhaled air condensed into mist in front of her, and turned to look to where Snatcher had last been, only to find nobody there. Not even the tell-tale yellow glow of their spectral face remained. Frowning in concern, Hat Kid pulled her cloak tightly around her to fend off the bitter chill, and focused on the darkness as well as she could in order to figure out where on earth she was now.

It had to be Subcon, still, because the two last areas had most certainly been on Subcon land. Foreboding ice crystals seemed to line the walls and pierce through the floor, radiating a chill that was so strong it almost glowed. Inky darkness lined the floor, reaching up in tendrils around Hat Kid’s feet as she walked that reminded her of the hands of the Subcon Swamp. Her heart hammered in her chest as she kept walking. No matter how she squinted, she couldn’t see the extremities of the room, or even a few feet in front of her, for that matter.

“Snatcher?” Hat Kid cried out, her voice echoing throughout the mysterious room. “Snatcher, where are you?” She stumbled over what seemed to be a forgotten bundle of rope, or chain, or something, and let out a soft curse to herself. “It’s cold, and I’m scared!”

The only reply was a sudden gasp from somewhere on the opposite side of the room, followed by a sharp sob and a frantic noise of movement.

Concern bubbling in Hat Kid’s mind now, she tried again. “Snatcher? Are you there?” She began to take slow, tentative baby steps towards where the noise was coming from.

“NO! Kid, stay BACK! I won’t have you—I can’t have you see this!”

That was unmistakably Snatcher’s voice, but they sounded… different. Their voice was strained, colder than usual. It almost sounded like… like they were…  
A chill ran down Hat Kid’s spine as she imagined what exactly was across the room. She wanted to know about her best friend, but a sudden sense of uncertainty settled heavily in her stomach, curling and rolling in on itself until waves of nausea formed. Taking a deep breath, the traveller clutched her stomach and kept walking.

“I mean it! STAY BACK!” The words were desperate now, and it was clear Snatcher could probably see her approach, even if she couldn’t see them just yet. The desperation in their words only made Hat Kid’s nausea grow, but she didn’t slow her approach.

Snatcher came into her line of sight first, hunched over firmly on the floor. Their claws were fixed over their eyes, but Hat Kid could see blue leaking out from between the gaps in their fingers. Their entire body seemed to be shaking uncontrollably, almost as if the ghost was not entirely lucid of their surroundings, which was a weird state to be in in the middle of a literal dream.

Hat Kid stepped forward in order to reach a hand out in support, but the specter whipped around, clawed hand outstretched as if they were trying to summon forth some of their magical energy to blast them away. The attempt fizzled in their palm, unfortunately, and Hat Kid could do nothing but drop to her knees when the furthest wall finally came into view.

A figure, almost shrunken into itself, hung limply from tightly sealed silver cuffs. His hair, ruffled and dishevelled, had fallen in his face where his head had fallen, to the point where Hat Kid could no longer see his eyes. His clothes, once pristine and clean, now were ruined, the wall leaving the fabric torn and stained with dirt.

This was the prince from earlier. He’d been chained up, and left to—No, Hat Kid didn’t want to think about that. He’d seemed so nice, so tentative. What would prompt someone to do this to the poor guy? She turned to Snatcher for answers, but they’d turned away fully, back to her, arms wrapped tightly around themself. They looked hunched over, perhaps wishing they were anywhere but here, which was understandable – they’d known the prince, right? It must be awful to have your dreams show you the corpses of your friends.

Tentatively, Hat Kid opened her mouth to speak, but the ghost cut her off.  
“Are you happy now, kid?” the Snatcher asked, voice raspy as if they’d burnt up all of their usual anger. “There. That’s what I didn’t want you seeing. The idiot who got himself – themself killed.”

She watched as they took a deep and unnecessary breath, before letting it out in a shuddering motion. Hat Kid found herself lost for words in the heaviness of the moment. She wished the dream would whisk them both away already.

“…You were friends?” the child eventually asked, her own voice soft and sheepish. She watched as Snatcher froze where they floated, before turning around to eye her suspiciously.

An incredulous laugh ruptured from them all of a sudden, but it held no cheer, only bitter and icy self-hatred. It continued for a few moments before Snatcher turned back around.  
“FRIENDS?” they repeated, in a semi-mocking tone. “You think we were FRIENDS? Kid, use your brain.” Hat Kid flinched at that, but she didn’t back away, curious as to what sparked that reaction. She couldn’t imagine what other relation this guy had to Snatcher that would cause such a violent burst of emotion.

“…Family?” she supplied as a second guess, more sheepish than the last. It sounded outlandish, even before she even asked it, but Hat Kid really didn’t want to consider the alternative. The alternative would mean that, well…

There was an extended stretch of silence. Then, abruptly, the Snatcher turned around, and Hat Kid saw their face clearly for the first time since they arrived in this area. They looked… distraught. More than just upset, utterly broken, eyes wide and full of emotion Hat Kid had never seen in the spectre before. For the first time since they’d met, they’d lost their signature smile, mouth tightened in a pained expression. Their arms weren’t just wrapped around them, either – their clawed hands seemed to have grasped their upper arms, encircling them as if they were grounding themself in the sensation.

“Think about it, kid,” they said, in a beaten down voice. “The clues are all here. I’m sure even a brat like you has enough brain power to do that.”

At that, everything clicked into place. Hat Kid took one testy step forward, then another. Then, without a second thought, she tackled Snatcher in a hug, wrapping her arms as far around the spirit as she could possibly manage. The ghost recoiled in surprise at the sudden motion, but before the ghost could tear the child off of their body, their emotions peaked, and everything went white.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter's going to be some good old Hurt/Comfort, because lord, I love that stuff.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a work planned for after this. I don't know if it will happen before or after this is finished. It's nothing long, but it will seek to explain why exactly Snatcher's pronouns changed. :)


End file.
